This year's festival takes place from September 13 - 18 and looks set to break previous box office records.

But ticket sales alone are not enough to cover the cost of the festival say organisers.

Rye Festival has been singled out, in a number of national newspapers, as one of the best of its size in Britain.

But it is one of the few, of that scale, not to receive external funding or to have a salaried director.

Rye Festival chairman Richard Thomas said: "We pare our costs to a minimum.

"The whole festival is prepared and organised by volunteers with a bare minimum of paid staff to move staging and heavy musical instruments and provide specialist technical help.

"In this respect the festival is almost unique. Most other festivals of equivalent size and scope employ, at the very least, a salaried director and many - perhaps the majority - are run and financed by their local authorities.

"Ticket sales alone nowhere near cover all our costs.

"We rely on membership subscriptions, very generous local sponsorship and on special fund-raising events but it is always a cliff-hanger as to whether we will keep afloat.

"We used to get help from the Arts Council, but this source of funding dried up some years ago.

"Rye Festival attracts visitors from all over the country and even from abroad. Besides buying festival tickets, people spend their money in the town's hotels, restaurants and shops."

Big names lined up for this year's festival include comedian Paul Merton, Kate Adie and the Pasadena Roof Orchestra.

Other highlights include acclaimed concert pianist John Lill, who will be opening the festival, and the Razumovsky Ensemble.

Local pianist Harriet Stubbs will be returning to her home town playing as part of the Gemini Trio.Tony Mulholland, from the Festival Committee, said: "People seem really excited about this year's programme.

"Some events are on the verge of selling out, and we have a number of people joining up as Friends of the Festival just so they get priority booking.

"So the message is; If you want to make sure of your tickets get booking."

The festival box office is at Phillips and Stubbs, 47/49 Cinque Ports Street.

The festival brochure is available now from outlets around town, including Rye Heritage Centre.
For the full festival line-up and dates see the web-site www.ryefestival.co.uk.